Star Sky
by Sharem
Summary: Ten years ago, Stiles went missing on the same day his mother died. When a fox is found injured, it starts to bring out memories during the past ten years of people meeting the fox. Once it's found out that the fox is actually the missing Stiles Stilinski, things are set in motion that will change the lives of everyone in the Hale pack.
1. Here We Are

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Teen Wolf or any of the characters.

 **AN** : This is an AU version of Teen Wolf where Stiles disappears the day his mother died when he was 8 years old.

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 **Chapter 1 - Here We Are**

Peter Hale was sitting on the porch of the newly rebuilt Hale House watching the pack do some training with their Alpha, his nephew Derek Hale. He was getting bored with it all and wanted to be somewhere else. However, he was ordered by Derek to stay until training was over for the day and it was irritating for the other Alpha to take. The pack was young with mostly betas and a couple of omegas.

The sounds of a vehicle, Scott McCall's beat up blue Jeep, came into view and Peter could smell the sadness in the boy's scent. It was curious because the beta wolf was usually a happy-go-lucky type of guy and to scent this emotion was not normal at all. Scott was usually on time, or even early, for the training sessions and the fact that the teen was very late meant something was wrong. He normally wouldn't have cared about Scott, but he knew that the others would want to know what happened.

"Someone died to make you this way?" the older Alpha called out, smirking slightly at the glare he was getting.

"Just shut up, Peter," Scott growled as he approached the porch and leaned against the railing away from Peter. "Of course you wouldn't know what day it is today. Dad's first wife died ten years ago today and my best friend Stiles disappeared right after Claudia died."

Peter didn't say anything after that, his blue eyes calculating as he remembered what had happened. A couple of hours after the Sheriff's first wife died from an incurable disease, his eight year old son disappeared without a trace. He remembered a precocious little boy with whiskey eyes and a sharp wit that put most adults to shame. The boy's disappearance shocked the small town of Beacon Hills and a massive manhunt for Stiles lasted for almost a year. And then seven years ago, Sheriff Stilinski married Scott's mother, Melissa McCall. The man had fallen in love with the woman who was one of his late wife's best friends when she helped him get his life back together after losing both his wife and son.

However, Peter was in a coma at that time…

The Alpha sighed and glanced at the beta. "I would say sorry if I had understood the significance of the day, but you already know that." He waved his hand at Scott, shooing the teen away. "Your Omega mate is out training with the Betas and I'm sure that Allison will comfort you in the best way an Omega can."

Scott muttered under his breath, calling Peter a dick as he jogged over to the training Betas. The others broke off their training once they saw the teen approach them. He still smelled the sadness in the boy's scent and closed his eyes so he could hear the conversation better.

" _Did you go to Claudia's grave today?_ " - Allison

" _Yeah, I did. I put the flowers Mom gave me_ _on the headstone_ _and… and he wasn't there_." - Scott

Oh? This is a new development. Was there suppose to be someone there at Claudia Stilinski's grave? The Sheriff perhaps?

" _Really? You mean that fox wasn't there this time? I thought you said that the fox was always there every year_." Allison almost sounded… worried? Why would anyone be worried over an animal?

" _It was disappointing not to see that fox because he always seemed to make me not feel so sad today. I think something happened to Foxy_." Foxy? What a stupid name for a fox, Scott.

Peter tuned out the rest of the conversation when he got up from the porch, waving at the others and telling Derek that he was going to go for a patrol run around the Preserve. The other Alpha just raised his eyebrows and shook his head, turning his attention back to the rest of the pack. Peter just shook his head as he ran into the woods.

As he was heading towards a remote part of the Preserve, Peter began thinking about Scott talking about a fox. That made him remember an incident with a fox about nine years ago…

 _Peter had taken himself deep into the Preserve in order to get away from the rest of the family._ _He did not want to hear another lecture from his sister, Talia, about how he should be doing something other than IT work for the Pack and family. Now that he was far enough away from the house, his body relaxed as he began to take in his surroundings._

 _The young Alpha_ _then heard a frightened yip and began to follow the sound. He then smelled the fear from a fox so he homed on the scent and it didn't take him long to find the creature. The poor thing had somehow gotten its head stuck in a large glass pickle jar. When it realized that it wasn't alone,_ _the fox began crying out in a screech and backing away, not even seeing where it was going._

 _In a rare moment of kindness, Peter slowly approached the fox and then grabbed the creature by the scruff on the neck. "Careful, little one, I'm only trying to help," he said in a soothing voice, his other hand moving on the fox's back in what he hoped was a calming manner. The screeching began to lessen to the point where it was only whimpers now._ _Carefully, Peter kept his grip on the animal's neck while he gently pulled on the glass jar off of the fox's head._

 _Once the jar was tossed away, the fox scrambled out of Peter's grasp and ran a few feet away. Peter took a good look at the fox and then sniffed. It was definitely a young fox, a kit at least, but it looked like it was all on its own. But… there was something else to the creature's scent, like it was not exactly a true fox. The fox in turn faced the werewolf, sitting down on its hindquarters while tilting its head to one side._

 _The Alpha sniffed again and realized that this fox could actually be a shifter, but decided to see if he could befriend the creature. He carefully held out his hand hoping that the fox would approach. It was a tense few minutes before it slowly crept forward. Once it was close enough, it sniffed Peter's hand and gave a tentative lick on the palm. That was when it gave an excited yip, jumping on Peter enough to give the man a lick on the cheek and began making sounds as if it was trying to talk to the wolf._

 _The moment was broken when Peter heard voice calling out for him and he felt a little sad when the young fox stood very still before using him as a springboard_ _and sprinting back into the woods. Peter never saw the fox again, especially since a year later the Hale fire happened and he went into a coma for six years…_

Soon enough, Peter found himself in the same area where he had first seen the fox. He smiled slightly at the young creature, wishing that he could see it again. There was an honest and guileless feel to the creature and he remembered there was a strange scent the emanated from the fox. If it was human, he knew that it might have even been the scent of an Omega.

A loud, pained howl filled the air made the werewolf immediately run towards the howl. He did not pay too much attention to his surroundings, intent on only finding whatever screamed out like that. Soon enough, he was in front of a gruesome scene. It was once a beautiful red fox, but its left hind leg was caught in a bearclaw trap, the leg now crushed and the fox itself was whimpering in pain. It began screeching when it saw Peter but suddenly stopped, its amber eyes staring at the werewolf.

"It can't be," Peter whispered as he recognized the fox from years past. He stayed still until he heard the frantic yips and whimpers coming from the fox, it was almost like it was asking the Alpha for help. Normal foxes did not live long in the wild and he knew that this creature was at least ten years old. That started to make him rethink on his original assumption years ago that this fox was a shifter.

"Alright, little one, I'll help you." At that, he knelt down beside the fox and put his hands on the jaws of the trap to open it. A searing pain shot through Peter's hands and he let go instinctively, staring at the trap and then his hands. Someone had set a trap within the Pack's territory that was laced with wolfsbane! Growling loudly, Peter grabbed the trap again and ignored the pain shooting through his hands and arms, opening it and freeing the fox. He tossed the device away and took note of the area so he could give detailed instructions on how to come back here to dispose of the trap safely.

Apparently, it was a hunter trying to trap whatever werecreature was in the area. And the trap's size meant it was after the fox and not a wolf. Still, it was a breach on their territory and his instincts were also clamoring for him to find the perpetrator, but getting help for the fox was more important.

The next few minutes were a blur for Peter as he gently carried the fox and ran back towards the Pack house. When he finally came into view of the house, all of the pack members smelled the frantic energy the elder Alpha was giving off and saw the injured fox in his arms. He refused to let the creature go but was convinced to by Derek when his nephew reminded him that he had his own marks to tend to. He had forgotten about the wolfsbane marks he got from the trap but shook his head, instincts telling him that he needed to make sure that the fox was okay.

 **Two hours later…**

Peter was in the room where they paced the fox, his hand gently rubbing the creature's ears. It was sleeping due to exhaustion and the pain, its hind leg bandaged up. He glanced up from the fox when the door opened to reveal Scott. He was staring at the creature and then looked at the Alpha.

"That's why I didn't see the fox at the cemetery today. He was caught in a trap."

"The trap was laced with wolfsbane, Scott," Peter stated, his eyes flashing for a moment. "That meant that a hunter has been in our territory and is not following the code. But that's not the main thing. Apparently, the trap was just the right size for a fox."

Scott's eyes widened at that as his mind put things together. "Do you think that Foxy is a shifter then?"

The fox in question opened its eyes and let out a growl at Scott and glared at the teen. That made Peter laugh. "I don't think he likes the name Foxy." He got a yip in agreement which made the teen pout. "Stiles would have done something like that."

The fox yipped excitedly at that and that made Peter think and things were starting to come together. "Scott, what was your friend's name again?"

"It was Stiles… a nickname actually because hardly anyone could pronounce his first name."

The fox yipped again but then whimpered because it had moved its injured leg.

Peter put his gaze on the fox. "Is that your name? Stiles?"

The fox yipped once more as he opened his jaws in an approximation of a grin. Scott's eyes widened comically as he came close to the creature. "Stiles? Is that really you?" he asked as he leaned close enough so the fox licked Scott's nose.

Peter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was going to be interesting once the Sheriff finds out his son was a fox...

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 **Author's Note** : The title of the story is from Star Sky by Two Steps From Hell. And the chapters will have lyrics from the song as titles.


	2. Riding the Sky

**Chapter 2 – Riding the sky**

 **Nine Years ago**

 _Scott watched his mother lay a bouquet of lilies on Mrs. Stilinski's grave a single tear running down her cheek. He was sad too because Mrs. Stilinski was always nice to him and made the best peanut butter brownies, even better than his own mom. But what got him the most sad was the fact that his best friend Stiles had been missing for a year now. He missed the chatter the other boy would do once he was talking about a subject that had his interest at the moment._

" _Scott, I'm going back to the car. You can stay for a little while longer," Melissa called out, her eyes bright with unshed tears._

 _The nine year old boy with a crooked chin watched his mother make her way out of the cemetery, making him sigh softly as he approached the grave. It had been a rough year without Mrs. Stilinski's brownies and Stiles' presence. The other boy may have been diagnosed with ADHD on top of being an Omega, he had no problem in confronting the bullies they both faced. If Scott was pushed into a wall, the bully found his underwear hanging on the school's flagpole. No one knew how Stiles did it and they couldn't pin the pranks on the boy. That had made Scott happy that he had such a cool best friend._

 _Scott bit his bottom lip as he gazed at the gravestone, gingerly placing his hand on it. He didn't know what to say or do as he used his other hand to wipe his eyes. That was when he heard a soft yip and whimper. Curious, the boy looked behind the headstone and saw a very pretty red fox kit, staring up at him with eyes that seemed to be so much like his missing friend's._

" _Wow, you're pretty," Scott whispered in awe, never having been so close to a wild animal before. He knelt down on the ground, not caring if his dress-up pants were getting stained by the dirt and the grass. As soon as he did that, the fox kit yipped and placed its front paws on the boy's legs, licking his cheeks._

 _The boy giggled and carefully put his arms around the kit and hugged gently, getting a couple of happy yips in return. "I think I'm going to call you Foxy," he stated and giggled a little more when the fox growled. It was apparent it didn't like the name but in Scott's mind, it fit. Soon enough, he heard his mother calling him and saw the fox bound out of the cemetery, carrying what looked like a large glass pickle jar in its jaws. He then thought he saw the fox's head accidentally slip inside the jar..._

 **XXXXXXXX**

Scott stared at the fox a little more, dumbfounded that his best friend Stiles had been the fox he had seen on the first anniversary of Mrs. Stilinski's death. He was definitely curious as to why Stiles was a fox but he reasoned that if he was patient, all of his questions would be answered. However…

 _Scott was not known for his patience…_

"Dude, how come you never told me? Couldn't you have said anything?" the teen asked, his eyes staring at the fox.

Stiles growled at Scott and snapped his jaws at the male, making a few yips as if explaining how could he talk while in this form. He then whined a little and yipped some more. It like he was trying to explain things.

"Oh, sorry," Scott responded with a sheepish grin and ran a hand through his hair. "You can't talk like a human like this." The fox yipped in agreement and then made a chuffing sound, like he was laughing.

"Hey, I'm not that oblivious!"

More yips came out as well as the strange sound that was suspiciously like a laugh.

"Wait, you were at the school when Allison first arrived?"

And then the teen wolf and the fox appeared to have a conversation, somehow understanding one another, leaving Peter to just stare at the duo. Apparently, even though the two had been apart for ten years, they still had some way of understanding one another despite their different forms. The Alpha figured that they were somehow soulmates of a sort, the kind that they were more like brothers than anything else, not like how Scott was with Allison Argent.

"I called the Sheriff and Deaton," Derek stated as he stood in the doorway, watching Scott have a conversation with the fox. His eyebrows pinched together and then Stiles let out a loud yip and even more chuffing sounds came out.

Scott glanced over at the younger Alpha and snickered and then gave the male an unapologetic grin. "Sorry, Derek, but Stiles made a joke about your eyebrows." He then went back to talking to his friend, Derek glaring slightly.

"I think they have a bond so Scott can actually understand what the fox is saying," Peter said when he saw the confusion on his nephew's face. He heard a slight growl in his direction and saw said fox growling at him. "Oh, I'm so sorry, did His Highness want me to refer to him by his name?"

Stiles growled some more and then curled up on the bed, his fluffy tail hiding his muzzle. However, his amber eyes were peeking out in a look that could only be judging everyone else in the room as his bandaged leg was sticking out a little. He made a gekkering sound, almost as if it was a challenge and then huffed.

Scott's own eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline and then laughed, a heartwarming sound that almost brought a smile to both Alphas. The beta rarely laughed even though he smiled all the time. He glanced at the two men and grinned. "Stiles said that if he's going to be called His Highness by one Creeperwolf and glared at by a Sourwolf, then he deserves to be treated like royalty."

If Peter could do that sweatdrop in some of those anime the kitsune in the pack loved to watch, he knew that he would be doing that right now. He began to believe that Stiles is in an appropriate form since foxes were considered tricksters and pranksters in legends and lore around the world. However, when Derek glared a little more at the fox and growled slightly, he laughed as well.

"It seems to me that Stiles described you perfectly, nephew." That got the elder Alpha his own glare from Derek. "Oh don't give me that look. He's a fox and they don't really follow a pack hierarchy." That got another laugh out of Scott and the chuffing sound from Stiles.

 **XXXXXXXX**

 **Nine years ago, a week later**

 _Alan Deaton was leaving his practice early that day knowing that his employees would be able to handle whatever would come up. He felt a pull on his senses and knew that he had to follow it. He drove to the Preserve and then began walking through the thick forest. He felt at home deep within the nature of the place as he followed what his senses were pulling him towards._

 _Soon enough, he found himself in a small clearing and saw an empty glass pickle jar within the thick grasses of the clearing. He knelt down in order to look at it, but when he reached over to touch it, a growl came from nearby. The vet turned his head towards a sound and saw a small red fox kit, its amber eyes glaring at him. There was something about the creature that made the man hold out his hand._

" _This is your treasure, isn't it?" Deaton asked softly, noticing how the fox kit tilted its head to one side and then nodded. That surprised the druid more than he would have admitted. Apparently this kit was a shifter, but it was refusing to return to human form, or it just wasn't ready to return to human form. "Are you protecting this?"_

 _The fox whined and nodded again, yipping softly and then whimpered._

" _And you're unable to protect it, aren't you?" There was an affirmative yip. "I can do that for you, little kit, I can protect it for you." Now Deaton was getting a confused stare. "I'm a druid and I can make sure to keep your treasure safe until you're ready to reclaim it. And I can make sure that you visit it as often as possible. Is that okay with you?"_

 _The fox kit yipped in agreement and then made a gekkering sound at Deaton, causing the man to laugh softly. "No need for threats, little kit. When I make a deal, I keep it."_

 **Present day**

Deaton arrived at the Hale House as soon as he was able to when he got the call from the younger Hale Alpha. The man sounded strange on the phone, talking about a fox and a former missing child. The only fox he could think of was the one he first met nine years ago with that glass pickle jar. As he had gathered things to bring with him, his first instinct was to bring the jar with him. When it came to his magic, he had learned over the years to trust his instincts so he brought the glass jar with him.

One of the Betas, Isaac Lahey, showed the doctor inside the house and led him upstairs to the room the fox was in. Once he entered, the creature noticed him and began to chitter and yip excitedly when he saw the glass pickle jar the male was holding. Stiles tried to get up but whimpered when he moved his injured leg.

When Peter saw the glass jar, he was surprised to see Deaton carrying it along with his veterinarian bag. "That jar, I remember that. I pulled that jar off of the fox's head nine years ago." There was a growl at that and a snapping of jaws near his hand. "So sorry, Your Highness."

Stiles huffed and then looked back up at the druid with a hopeful look in his eyes. Deaton placed the jar near the fox and the creature made a sound that was suspiciously like a purr. With him distracted with the jar, Deaton carefully examined the injured leg while humming under his breath and talking to the fox.

"See, little kit, I kept my promise. Your treasure is safe and is now back with you." The druid finished examining the leg after changing the bandages on it. "So, I heard your name is Stiles and that you're the Sheriff's missing son." An affirmative yip.

"And you want to change back into your real form?" Another affirmative yip.

"I'm sorry to say, Stiles, that you're going to have to wait until that leg of yours heals completely."

Stiles whined at that and pulled his attention away from the jar and crept carefully over to the closest person carefully and buried his head into the person's leg, which happened to be Peter's leg. Instinctively, the Alpha rubbed the fox's ears, calming Stiles' down as he also took some of the pain away, black veins going up his forearm. "How long will it take for him to heal then?" Peter asked, looking at Deaton in the eyes.

The doctor thought for a moment and then smiled slightly. "Werefoxes heal almost as fast as a werewolf so Stiles should be completely healed by the morning. It's delayed a little longer since his system still has a bit of wolfsbane in it."

Derek actually started paying attention to that. "Really? Peter, didn't you say that the trap the fox-" Stiles growled at that which the younger Alpha ignored, "that the trap was laced with wolfsbane?"

The two Alphas began to think on who might have left that trap and it was was meant for Stiles. The fox tuned that out and let out a soft whine when Peter got up to leave with Derek. The older man scratched the fox's ear before leaving him alone in the bedroom with Deaton and Scott. He whined a little more and then buried his head in Scott's leg when the teen sat down on the bed next to him.

"What do you mean the Alphas smell really good?!"

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 **AN** : And here is the second chapter. This was already up on AO3 and my newer stories will be on there from now on. I'll still update here for this story though.


	3. Painting the night with sun

**Summary:** Flashbacks of Derek and Sheriff Stilinski meeting the fox and Stiles does something only Stiles can do...

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 **Chapter 3 -** **Painting the night with sun**

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 **Nine years ago, three months after the first anniversary of Claudia's death**

 _Derek didn't know what to do now, Paige was dead by his own hands because the bite from Ennis didn't take. He had thought that giving his girlfriend, and mate, the bite, she'd be able to stay with him forever. His Uncle Peter had given him the idea, but the older man had stressed to the teen that he should ask his mother, the Alpha, to give the girl the bite. But he didn't listen and decided too ask the Alpha of a visiting pack to give Paige the bite._

 _Unfortunately, Alpha Ennis didn't think to do the kind thing when Derek realized that Paige would be a part of Ennis' pack and not his mother's. The Alpha had attacked and bit Paige before Derek got there and realized that it was too late. He then took his mate to the Nemeton and cried as he broke her neck, mercifully ending her pain. He howled loudly, the pain he was feeling seeped into the howl._

 _The teenaged werewolf kept on crying, holding the girl's lifeless body, rocking himself back and forth in the throes of grief. However, he then heard hesitant footsteps but realized that these steps were not made by any human, just an animal. He lifted his eyes which flashed a bright blue before seeing a young red fox nearby. The sounds the fox was making sounded sad as it carefully crept closer to the werewolf, as if it wanted to make him feel better._

 _"_ _No, go away," Derek growled out, flashing his now blue eyes at the kit trying to scare it away. He was surprised when the young fox made a gekkering sound at him, challenging him to make him leave. This surprised Derek so much that he didn't notice that the fox had gotten closer, so close that it had placed a paw on Paige's lifeless arm._

 _Just as Derek was about to push the fox away, the creature howled mournfully for a moment before making some soft sounds as if it was trying to talk. Suddenly, a soft glow appeared to emanate from the Nemeton and surround them, calming the young werewolf. His eyes widened when he realized that Paige's body seemed to dissolve into many tiny glowing sparks, making area full of twinkling stars._

 _"_ _It's like painting the night with the sun, or rather hundreds of tiny stars," Derek murmured, awe filling him as the flickering sparks began to move, swirling around him and the fox before dispersing throughout the Nemeton and then the forest…_

 **Present day...**

Stiles was still lying on the bed in his fox form and sighed, nuzzling into his tail and Scott's leg. The Beta had fallen asleep on the bed leaving the fox to his thoughts, which could possibly prove detrimental to those around him. He was a prankster before he turned into a fox and now even more so. He whined slightly when he tried to move his leg again, but now he could feel a difference. It wasn't as stiff as it was earlier when the nice smelling Alpha had rescued him.

He remembered when he first met the Alpha when he had gotten his head stuck in his pickle jar. The fox was grateful for the help, but he was still very wary about the strange werewolf. However, he noticed how the man was trying to be nice to him and so he went up to him and sniffed the outstretched hand and licked it. Stiles had never smelled anything so wonderful in his young life and had to give the man a lick, the closest thing to a kiss he could do.

Stiles let out a sigh through his nose and was about to nuzzle into Scott's leg when the door opened, the younger Alpha entering the room. The fox let out a growl when Derek gently shook the Beta awake, motioning for the teen to get up and leave.

"But Derek, it's Stiles! He's my best friend and I haven't been able to talk to him in years," Scott whined as he got up and off the bed, scratching Stiles behind the ears. The fox made a sound that was suspiciously like a purr before playfully biting his friend's hand, causing Scott to jump and yell out. "Hey!" However, he then hung his head and gave off those sad puppy eyes after Stiles made some sounds and yips.

Scott scratched the fox's ears once more before leaving the room dejectedly. Once he was gone, Derek stood away from the bed and tilted his head to one side as he studied the fox on the bed, his gaze lingering on the bandaged hind leg. Making sure that no one was in hearing distance, the young Alpha closed the door and sat on the bed next to the fox, tentatively scratching behind the creature's ears.

"I didn't recognize you at first," Derek began quietly, struggling to find the words to say to the fox. "But I remember you now. You were there after I had killed Paige and… and you made me not feel so guilty about what had happened. I'm sorry that… I'm sorry for glaring at you."

Stiles' ears perked up at that and he yipped at the Alpha and then placed a paw on the other's leg. ' _It wasn't your fault, Alpha Derek. I may have only been nine years old then, but I felt a great need to make you feel better.'_

Derek was startled to hear a voice in his head as he stared in wonder at the fox. "How… how are you able to speak to me like that?" he asked, not able to stop staring at Stiles.

The fox seemingly shrugged and yawned widely, showing all of his teeth as he did so. ' _I think I can only do this to Alphas. Dad's a Beta so he couldn't understand me whenever I had seen him_. _No wait... Dad's a human Alpha. Maybe he couldn't understand because he's human._ '

"Then how was Scott able to understand your fox gibberish? He's a Beta as well." Derek then yelped when the fox snapped at his fingers, biting one digit but not hard enough to draw blood.

 _'It's not gibberish, Sourwolf_!' Stiles then growled at the Alpha as the man had glared at him. ' _Scott always had been able to understand me because he is my brother, no matter who our parents are! Do you even think before you speak? By calling my vocalizations as_ gibberish _was really insulting to me_.'

Derek still couldn't help but keep staring at the fox, wondering how this Stiles had an excellent grasp on vocabulary since he hadn't been in school for the past decade. The Alpha shook his head and sighed in exasperation. "Sorry," was all he managed to get out, still not able to believe that this was the same fox that helped him with Paige nine years ago. But then… he started to remember other incidents involving said fox and he glared even more at the creature.

"You! You were the one who slashed the tires of my car two years ago!" The Alpha exclaimed, his eyebrows furrowed as he narrowed his eyes. "I come back to Beacon Hills and the first thing that happened was that! At first I thought it was hunters, but that didn't explain the scent I picked up! You are evil, aren't you?"

Stiles didn't dignify that question with his apparent telepathy, just giving Derek a rather toothy fox-grin and made a chuffing sound, seemingly laughing at the whole situation. The werewolf sighed in exasperation and realized that this fox was someone that would bring life into the pack, despite a werefox's penchant for pranks. And apparently this fox also had a gift with magic as well, something that most werewolves don't have.

 **Nine years ago, a month after Derek and the Nemeton**

 _Sheriff John Stilinski stared at the missing child posters that he had of Stiles, missing his son terribly. It was all his fault as to why Stiles disappeared and he had been hoping that he would be able to beg his son for forgiveness. It had been more than a year since Stiles disappeared and he was actually starting to lose hope of ever seeing the boy again. He will say though that Melissa McCall and her son Scott had been filling the emptiness of his heart and home as soon as he saw the photo of Claudia and Melissa with their sons._

 _The Sheriff picked up the frame and sighed as he studied each person in the photo. He still missed his late wife but things had been getting better with Melissa around. Also, Scott helped by being the good boy he always was and keeping an eye on the older man. However, that was when he realized that the bag from the local burger restaurant had been torn open. He knew that his cholesterol was not the greatest but there was no one around to make him eat the healthy foods._

 _Narrowing his eyes, John heard a chuffing sound and followed it to the floor. What he was not expecting to see was a young red fox under his desk, muzzle deep into a bag of curly fries and a wrapped double bacon cheeseburger next to him. He felt his eye twitch because this wild animal had somehow sneaked into the station without anyone noticing and was now eating his rather unhealthy lunch._

 _"Hey, give that back, you mangy fox!" John cried out as he lunged for his burger. Unfortunately for him, the fox growled at him and then took the burger in his mouth and darted out from under the desk. It stopped at the office entrance and the Sheriff could have sworn that the creature was judging him somehow. It then turned around, it's tail sticking up straight and the hind-legs scratching on the linoleum flooring, making horrendous sounds. It was like the fox was challenging the Sheriff to come and get him._

 _A little over an hour later, the entirety of the Beacon Hills Sheriff's department had tried to catch that little red fox and have it taken back to the woods. However, the creature managed to evade everyone and caused some of the older deputies and the Sheriff himself to be out of breath and totally exhausted. Finally, the fox escaped when someone had entered the building and it ran out the open door._

 _"This would have been the exact thing Stiles would have done," one of the deputies remarked, making everyone smile for once when the boy's name was mentioned._

 _John let out a small chuckle and for the first time in a year, a real smile broke out on his face. "Yeah, Stiles would have done this and loved it all the same._

 **Present day…**

Sheriff John Stilinski drove his police cruiser into the long driveway that led up to the Hale House, and saw the blue Jeep that Scott drove. It used to belong to his late wife Claudia and was planning on giving it to Stiles when the boy became sixteen. However, it was decided to give it to his stepson, Scott. He loved that boy almost as much as he did Stiles and was glad that he and Melissa got married seven years ago.

The Sheriff parked next to the Jeep and saw Peter Hale standing on the wide porch waiting for him. He was curious why the older Alpha werewolf was there, but then again Derek was the one who had called him to come to the house as soon as possible. It made him wonder if there was something wrong, something going on with the pack. He wouldn't doubt that since Scott was bit by a rogue Alpha werewolf during the teen's sophomore year. However, before he could ask what was going on, Peter opened his mouth.

"We found Stiles."

John couldn't move as soon as those three words left the werewolf's mouth. As much as he had hoped that he would see his son after all these years, it was still nearly impossible to believe. So after a couple of minutes, the older man shook himself from his thoughts and quickly went up the steps to the front door, Peter right behind him.

The Alpha tried to get the human Alpha to stop and listen to him, but he knew that the man wanted to see his only blood, the son he had missed for so long. Peter understood that so he directed the man up to the second floor and to the guestroom Stiles was in. However, he had to stop John from bursting into the room.

"Before you go in there, John, there are a few things you have to know. The only reason I found him was that he was caught in a hunter's trap. Otherwise, Stiles would more than likely still be out there in the Preserve."

"What do you mean by that, Peter? Is he okay? How could he get into a hunter's trap in the first place? He's human." The Sheriff was completely confused by that since the last time he saw his son was when the boy was just a small child.

The Alpha werewolf sighed and went to open the door. He heard Derek talking to the fox and laughed when he heard his nephew exclaim loudly about the tires on his car. When he knocked and then opened the door, Peter saw the look of shock on John's face and the eyes widening on the fox's face. Somehow, there was instant recognition between the two and the Sheriff headed straight to the bed, Derek quickly getting out of the way.

"Oh my god, my dear boy," John said, emotions lacing his tone as he sat on the bed and gently picked the fox up. He was mindful of the injured leg when he saw the bandages. "All this time… I didn't know you were that damned fox. I missed you so much, son…"

At that, Stiles started to whimper and whine, trying to tell his father how much he had missed the man as well. He remembered what Deaton had said that he should wait until he was fully healed before transforming back into a human. But Stiles being who he was…

The fox yowled loudly as he pushed away from his father, a translucent glow surrounding his body. The people in the room stared as they watched the creature's limbs lengthen and the fur melting away. The crunch of bone was painful to hear when the injured leg was forced to heal quickly in order to accommodate the body shifting into human. The cries of pain were so loud that it caused the rest of the pack to rush up to the room, crowding around the open doorway.

To Stiles, it seemed like an eternity as he transformed back into a human form when in reality it only took seconds. It was the pain of forcing the shift in his injured state that caused it to come out. Before long, lanky pale limbs reached out and grabbed John in a tight embrace, his whiskey colored eyes shining bright with unshed tears. When he finally spoke, his voice was husky and deep because of years of not being used.

"I'm so sorry, Dad… I'm so sorry."


End file.
